Treaty of Versailles

& Interwar Period

Thomas Woodrow Wilson Fourteen Points

The idealism expressed in them was widely acclaimed Gave Wilson a position of moral leadership among the Allied leaders In order to secure support of his 14th, and most important, point, which called for the creating of an "association of nations," Wilson was compelled to abandon his insistence upon the acceptance of his full program
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Thomas Woodrow Wilson Fourteen Points

14 Points were for political and economic reconstruction 1. abolition of secret diplomacy by open convenants 2. freedom of the seas in peace and war 3. removal of international trade barriers wherever possible and establishment of an equality of trade conditions 4. reduction of armaments 5. adjustment of colonial disputes consistent with the interests of both the controlling government and the colonial population 6. evacuation of Russian territory, with selfdetermination
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7. evacuation and restoration of Belgium 8. evacuation and restoration of French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine 9. readjustment of Italian frontiers along clearly recognizable lines of nationality 10. autonomy for the peoples of AustriaHungary 11. ? 12. ? 13. ? 14. ?
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Treaty of Versailles
Peace treaty signed (June 28, 1918) at the end of World War I between Germany and the Allies Paris Peace Conference was the making of the Treaty of Versailles, which opened on Jan. 18, 1919 Represented were 27 countries, including the U. S., Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan Neither the German Republic, which had replaced the imperial German government at the end of the war, nor Soviet Russia was invited to attend the conference Germany signed only under duress The U.S. signed but failed to ratify the treaty, negotiating instead the separate Treaty of Berlin with Germany (signed on Aug. 25, 1921)

Treaty of Versailles
Germany

empire Germany lost some 71,000 sq km or 13 percent of its European domain Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France Saar Basin was placed under a League of Nations commission for 15 years recognized Danzig as a free city administered under the League of Nations but subject to Polish jurisdiction in regard to customs and foreign relations
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also lost its entire colonial

 Germany

was required to abolish compulsory military service to reduce its army to 100,000 to demilitarize all the territory on the left bank of the Rhine River to stop all importation, exportation, and nearly all production of war material to limit its navy to 24 ships, with no submarines, the naval personnel not to exceed 15,000 to abandon all military and naval aviation by Oct. 1, 1919
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Germany was required to make extensive financial reparation Difficulty arose in collecting payment which was made in the form of Money, Ships, trains, livestock, and natural resources War-guilt clause stating that Germany accepted sole responsibility for causing the war This aroused intense nationalist bitterness in Germany The treaty also required provisional payments in kind and cash of 20 billion gold marks ($5 billion) The Reparations Commission subsequently made a total assessment of 132 billion gold marks ($33 billion), which the Germans accepted only under duress 11

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The Versailles Treaty Negatives / Positives

A dictated peace (diktat). Reparations were exorbitant ($33 B). Artificial boundaries separating German people. Polish corridor. Took away colonies/resources Some nationalities became forcefully separated

Germany was able to pay the amount asked: needed access to foreign markets. Created new states that did reflect national autonomy. Rebirth of Poland. International body: The League of Nations Captive peoples were freed. No other treaty ever released so many subject races from domination of oppressive empires Major weapons were eliminated in defeated nations 13

Estimated Costs of the First World War (in US Dollars)

Total for the Allied Nations $125 690 500 000 Total for the Central Powers

$60 644 000 000

Grand Total $186 300 500 000

This total equals to costs approximately $125 000 000 for each day of the war and only includes the direct costs of conducting the war.
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 Germany

was required by the Treaty of Versailles to pay reparations due its moral guilt in initiating the First World War. The commission established by the terms of the treaty set the total payment of reparations at:

$33 000 000 000 (US)

The

commission also determined that this amount of money was to be divided among the victorious Allied nations as follows: France: 52% British Empire: 22% Italy: 10%

Belgium: 8% Other Nations: 8%

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League Of Nations

International alliance for the preservation of peace, with headquarters at Geneva League existed from 1920 to 1946 First meeting was held in Geneva, on Nov. 15, 1920, with 42 nations represented Last meeting was held on April 8, 1946 During the last meeting, the league was superseded by the UN
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During the league's 26 years, a total of 63 nations belonged at one time or another President Woodrow Wilson presented a plan for a general association of nations The plan formed the basis of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the 26 articles that served as operating rules for the league The covenant was formulated as part of the Treaty of Versailles
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Although President Wilson was a member of the committee that drafted the covenant U.S. Senate never ratified the covenant because of Article X: all members preserve the territorial independence of all other members, even to joint action against aggression During the next two decades, American diplomats encouraged the league's activities and attended its meetings unofficially, but the U.S. never became a member The efficacy of the league was considerably lessened without USA as a member
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The first meeting of the Assembly in 1920

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One important activity of the league was supervision of the former Germany and Turkey colonies/territories Territories were awarded to league members in the form of mandates Mandated territories were given different degrees of independence, in accordance with their stage of development, their geographic situation, and their economic status A new world concept had prompted the league's inception, that of collective security against the "criminal" threat of war
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Unfortunately for the fate of the world, the league rarely implemented its available resources to achieve this goal League may be credited with certain social achievements such as curbing international traffic in narcotics and prostitution, aiding refugees of World War I, and surveying and improving world health and labor conditions In the area of preserving peace, the league had some minor successes, including settlement of disputes between Finland and Sweden over the Aland Islands in 1921 and between Greece and Bulgaria over their mutual border in 1925
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Although Germany joined the league in 1926, the National Socialist government (Nazi Regime) withdrew in 1933 Japan also withdrew in 1933, after Japanese attacks on China were condemned by the league The league failed to end the war between Bolivia and Paraguay over the Gran Chaco In 1935, between 1932 and 1935 Emperor Haile Selassie of The league failed to stop Ethiopia condemns the Italian the Italian conquest of invasion of Abyssinia in Ethiopia begun in 1935 his address to
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Finally, the league was powerless to prevent the events in Europe that led to World War II The USSR, a member since 1934, was expelled following the Soviet attack on Finland in 1939 In 1940 the secretariat in Geneva was reduced to a skeleton staff, and several small service units were moved to Canada and the U.S. In 1946 the league voted to effect its own dissolution, whereupon much of its property and organization were transferred to the UN.
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Never truly effective as a peacekeeping organization Lasting importance of the League of Nations it provided the groundwork for the UN The United Nations formed after World War II, not only profited by the mistakes of the League of Nations but borrowed much of the organizational machinery of the league
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Besides Manchuria & Abyssinia,

Other L of N Actions

Date Countries Detail Result Success

1920 1920-21 1923 1924-25 Finland & Sweden Poland & Germany Italy & Greece Turkey & Iraq Aaland Island Silesia Corfu Mosul Finland gets island, local govt Pleb. Silesia was divided Greece paid compensatio n to Italy Stayed in Br. Mandate of Iraq L of N condemned Greece Yes Ques. Yes Ques.

1925

Greece & Bulgaria

Border dispute

Yes

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L of N Compared/Contrasted to UN

Contained charters Collective Action Designed to promote peace Assemblies Council Secretariat Mandate commission and Trusteeship commission

No human rights in L of N Leagues Council members had no veto power, but unanimity was needed. No commission to supervise a free zone in UN
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International Courts of Justice are same

US a member of UN UN is more intl Headquarters based in New York, L of N was in Geneva.

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